THE exact wording of the phrase was disputed by Number 10 at the time, though there was no explicit denial that David Cameron had ever referred to environmental policies with the inelegant formulation of ‘green crap’.

The then Prime Minister caused a row in 2013 by reportedly telling aides to “get rid of all the green crap” from energy bills in an effort to reduce costs. As we reported earlier this week, his decision effectively banned onshore wind, stifling the UK’s renewables industry and shifting investment overseas. The consequences are now being felt by consumers who face painful increases in energy prices.

Mr Cameron, in his memoirs, did at least observe that offshore wind had been the most remarkable green transformation during his time in office, noting that it had wrong-footed those critics who had insisted it would be ruinously expensive. Offshore wind is now huge business. Reserves of North Sea oil and gas are still being quarried, but the sheer potential of wind energy is immense, particularly in Scotland.

As Vicky Allan disclosed in a special report in these pages two days ago, the wind revolution is gathering speed. One fixed wind-farm, Berwick Bank, with its planned 300-plus turbines at the edge of the Firth of Forth, is poised to deliver sufficient power to supply Scotland’s homes twice over.

There are many such fixed wind-farms, all taking advantage of our distinctively windy weather; further out at sea, floating wind-turbines are in the pipeline, anchored to the sea-bed, capable of yielding even more energy. One such, Seagreen, off the Angus coast, with its 80-metre-long turbine blades, could power 1.4 million homes.

The Scottish Government’s current target of 11GW of offshore wind power by 2030 (the current capacity is 2GW, and rising) looks like being exceeded. Developments emerging from the ScotWind leasing process could end up generating nearly 28GW of offshore wind energy. ScotWind last week announced no fewer than 20 projects with sea-bed agreements in the pipeline, with investments totalling almost £30bn.

It is, by any measure, a formidable prospect, in terms of energy generation, of the UK becoming less dependent upon gas imports and meeting net-zero targets; of jobs, too, and of economic activity. With President Biden warning Cop27 that the world faces a pivotal moment in the climate emergency – and with pessimistic analysis saying that carbon emissions from fossil fuels will hit record levels this year – offshore wind is being seen more and more as a game-changer.

But the winds of change can only blow so fast. Offshore windfarms do not materialise in a matter of weeks or months. Conditions at sea pose considerable difficulties in terms of equipment design and construction, and worker safety. Seagreen has been 12 years in the making; Berwick Bank has been in development for just two years less.

Alongside such developments there are issues that need to explored, including the crucial one of storage of surplus energy, for use in those times when, as many point out, the wind does not blow.

Other challenges have to be addressed as a priority: do we really have the capacity to make all the blades and towers and cables that are needed for the years ahead? Are we capable of handling all the construction work?

This latter point has proved sensitive. Seagreen, for example, awarded the contracts for manufacture of jacket foundation substructures to overseas companies, in China and the United Arab Emirates, rather than the local yard, Burntisland Fabrications, BiFab, which later went into administration.

Scottish firms are clearly not getting their share of contracts, principally because, for a range of reasons, overseas countries can make things cheaper. Crown Estate Scotland mandated that applicants for the ScotWind seabed leases had to outline supply-chain commitments and update them throughout the development, but that pressure does not look to be enough.

The GMB union, which has tens of thousands of members in the energy industry, cautions that overseas deals risk leading to yet more offshoring of UK renewables jobs. It has a valid point when it suggests that jobs and investment going “halfway around the world” might not necessarily be good for the environment, the domestic economy, or national security.

Official talk of a jobs bonanza in offshore wind sometimes needs to be treated with caution. Twelve years ago, the Scottish government forecast that by 2020 there would be 28,000 Scottish jobs in offshore wind. A recent Fraser of Allander report found, however, that there were only 6,735 full-time jobs in offshore wind, a comparatively modest tally the context of the 27,000-plus jobs altogether in the wider renewable energy industry.

The jobs issue grows more complicated still when the leader of the Scottish Conservatives can say that Scottish and UK North Sea oil and gas jobs should “absolutely” be prioritised over the meeting of energy targets.

Despite the progress made in harnessing wind energy, greater advances remain to made in decarbonising our heating system. As things stand, we are still hugely reliant on gas. The renewables revolution has to take place in step with an urgent programme of retrofitting and insulating. And offshore wind development must be done with care to minimise impact on marine life and seabirds.

Caveats aside, there is much reason to be proud of what Scotland has achieve, and will continue to achieve, in wind.

It has been estimated that the ScotWind licensing round could see Scotland receiving a windfall of some £700 million in upfront fees. Serious thought needs to given to establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund, along the well-publicised lines of that established in 1990 by Norway, and which now stands at around £1 trillion.

Much of the wealth from North Sea oil and gas has over long decades gone London’s way. Scotland has done exceptionally well to capitalise on the global trend for renewables. A wealth fund derived from licensing rounds and future incomes would be a just reward for its far-sightedness, and a valuable legacy for the country.

 

CROWNING GLORY?

THE new season of The Crown has attracted criticism for its alleged blurring of royal fact and fiction. But Patrick Jephson, private secretary to Diana, Princes of Wales, has watched it in its entirety and reports that he found no lies, cruel falsehoods, malicious twisting of words or dishonest presentation of historical facts. Instead, it seems to have served the overall cause of authenticity. Perhaps we should just enjoy The Crown rather than fretting about others’ criticism of it.